SINGAPORE – Winger Sadio Mane’s hat trick in the 6-1 drubbing of Aston Villa on Saturday (May 16) was a ‘special day’ for the Senegali and his club Southampton.

Netting three goals in in two minutes and 56 seconds was more than enough to enter the record books for fastest hat trick in the English Premier League, smashing Robbie Fowler’s 11-year record of four minutes and 32 seconds for Liverpool against Arsenal in Aug 28, 1994.

“Really? It is the fastest Premier League hat-trick? The most important thing today is the victory,” Mane was quoted as saying in an interview with the BBC. 

But how does Mane's treble compare to others? 

Here are the top 10 fastest hat tricks in football ever recorded.

1. Alex Torr (1 minute 10 seconds, Rawson Springs vs Winn Gardens, April 28, 2013) 

The 20-year-old university student scored his hat trick in a Sheffield Sunday League match, just three days after garnering a hat-trick in another. The match referee confirmed the timings, and was quoted saying to The Star that he had never seen anything like it.

2. Tommy Ross (1 min 30 seconds, Ross County vs Nairn County, Nov 28, 1964) 

Almost 51 years ago, Ross scored seven goals during an 8-1 victory against Nairn County, including a hat trick. He had to wait for his record to be officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records 40 years later due to a technical confusion.

3. Eduardo Maglioni (1 min 51 seconds, Independiente v Gimmasia de la Plata, March 18, 1973)

The Argentine netted all three goals for Independiente during an Argentine top flight clash in March 1973 and is regarded as the all-time best in the South American country.

4. Magnus Arvidsson (1 min 29 seconds, Hassleholm vs Landskrona, Oct 22, 1995)

The Swede helped Hassleholm come back from 3-0 down to tie the game at 3-3 before eventually winning the game and avoiding relegation.

5. Jan Seelen (2 minutes, Ajax vs SVV Scheveningen, March 1959)

Still regarded as the Dutch top-flight record today, Seelen’s hat trick for Ajax came during a 9-2 thrashing of SVV Scheveningen.

6. Jimmy O'Connor (2 mins 13 secs, Shelbourne v Bohemians, Nov 19, 1967)

An Irish league match between Shelbourne and Bohemians in November 1967 saw O’ Connor taking just 133 seconds to score his treble. 

7. James Hayter (2 mins 20 secs, Bournemouth v Wrexham, Feb 24, 2004)

Hayter took just two minutes and 20 seconds to score a hat-trick - the fastest in league history - in Bournemouth's crushing 6-0 win against Wrexham in the Second Division.

8. Andy Locke (2 mins 20 secs, Nantwich Town vs Droylsden, Sept 9, 1995) 

Locke’s hat trick came during a first round qualifying tie in the English FA Cup.

9. Abdul Hamid Bassiouny (1 min 57 seconds, Egypt vs Namibia, 2001)

Although he scored a hat trick in quicktime, they were the only goals he managed to score for his country out of 14 appearances. His feat in an 8-2 win against Namibia stands as the quickest ever in a World Cup match.

10. Ian St John (2 mins 30 seconds, Motherwell vs Hibernian, August 1959)

Before moving to Liverpool, the Scottish striker scored a hat trick in just 150 seconds against Hibernian in a League Cup match.